President Obama and his supporters need to step back and think hard about this interview.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video

Note especially his mention of the “unanimous decision” of “his government”. Excuse me?

President Obama is President of the United States. He is not Prime Minister of “his government”. The US Constitution specifies the President’s oath of office. The oath is not to provide health care, or defend the homeland. The oath is to “preserve, protect and defend” the constitution.

The constitution says that the Congress makes the laws, and the President executes on what Congress decides. The Congress is the people’s representatives. The President has no power to modify law. He is not above the law. He must follow the law.

In the affair with Mr. Bergdahl, President Obama claims that the negotiations were fragile, and that they could have failed if word leaked out. This may be true, but is it reason to ignore the law? Is his policy the first priority, and following the law the second?

We do well to think long and hard about the behavior of this president and the precedent he sets. If the precedent is that if the President believes that his policies come first, and following the law comes second, then we have truly achieved “change” with this president.